Delay does not mean procrastinate. Procrastination is about indefinite postponement; delaying is about consciously rescheduling something for a more appropriate time. Delaying in this sense is actually proactive—you are choosing the best time to do something so that it works with your schedule, work style, and priorities.        

            Scan your list of to-dos and ask yourself: What absolutely doesn’t have to happen today? Even if you’ve determined that a task is important, consider whether it can be postponed a day or a week to a more logical and practical time. For example, your first day back from vacation may not be the most effective time to tackle that presentation, even though it is due in two weeks. Better to go through your backlog, get reoriented, and schedule the project for a few days later when you are able to truly focus. Instead of going to the electronics store this weekend to shop for a new computer, you may want to delay it until next month when the stores are running electronics sales.           

            Delaying sometimes requires that we fight our own impulse to gravitate toward tasks we enjoy or consider easy at the expense of more important, difficult ones. Delaying also involves resisting your tendency to “instantly respond” to requests from other people. Just because someone asks you to do something the moment they think of it doesn’t mean it’s urgent; perhaps they just wanted to get it off their own list.